Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 12, 2026
08:28
Single-molecule Manipulation of G-quadruplexes by Magnetic Tweezers
Published on: September 19, 2017
8.5K
Strain release through hydrogen bond-mediated layer twisting
Qi Zheng1,2, Boyang Li3, Sizhan Liu4
1Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Science Advances
|October 31, 2025
Summary
Advanced materials utilize strain engineering. This study reveals nanoscale strain release mechanisms in boehmite (γ-AlOOH) through 2D layer twisting mediated by hydrogen bonding, offering new insights for materials science.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Solid State Chemistry
Background:
- Strain engineering is crucial for advanced material design.
- Nanoscale strain evolution and release mechanisms require further exploration.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate strain relaxation pathways in boehmite (γ-AlOOH) at the nanoscale.
- Elucidate real-time structural dynamics governing strain release.
Main Methods:
- In situ heating transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
- Synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy.
- Neural network potential calculations.
Main Results:
- Identified distinct strain release mechanisms: layer twisting, defect formation, and domain restructuring.
- Observed 2D layer twisting mediated by hydrogen bond modulation.
- Determined metastable twisted structures as potential energy minima.
Conclusions:
- Established a novel paradigm of hydrogen bond-mediated 2D layer twisting for strain relaxation.
- Provided insights into strain-driven transformation mechanisms.
- Highlighted broad implications for strain in material and earth sciences.
Related Concept Videos
02:02DNA Topoisomerases
34.7K
Topoisomerases are enzymes that relax overwound DNA molecules during various cell processes, including DNA replication and transcription. These enzymes regulate positive and negative DNA supercoiling without changing the nucleotide sequence. DNA overwinding in a clockwise direction results in positively supercoiled DNA, whereas underwinding in a counterclockwise direction produces negatively supercoiled DNA.
Types and Mechanism of action
Topoisomerases are divided into two main types. ...
Types and Mechanism of action
Topoisomerases are divided into two main types. ...
34.7K
00:26Hydrogen Bonds
129.8K
Hydrogen bonds are weak attractions between atoms that have formed other chemical bonds. One of these atoms is electronegative, like oxygen, and has a partial negative charge. The other is a hydrogen atom that has bonded with another electronegative atom and has a partial positive charge.
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
129.8K
01:04Hydrogen Bonds
13.1K
A hydrogen bond is formed when a weakly positive hydrogen atom already bonded to one electronegative atom (for example, the oxygen in the water molecule) is attracted to another electronegative atom from another polar molecule, such as water (H2O), hydrogen fluoride (HF), or ammonia (NH3). The huge electronegativity difference between the H atom (2.1) and the atom to which it is bonded (4.0 for an F atom, 3.5 for an O atom, or 3.0 for an N atom), combined with the very small size of an H atom...
13.1K
01:15Hydrolysis
120.9K
Overview
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
120.9K
01:17Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Chain Branching
2.4K
The skeletal structure of polymers synthesized via radical polymerization is always branched. For example, the polymerization of ethylene by radical polymerization results in a low-density grade of polyethylene with a heavily branched skeletal structure. Here, the radical site abstracts hydrogen from the growing chain, and the radical site shifts from the end (a primary carbon center) to anywhere within the growing chain (a secondary carbon center). Consequently, the part of the chain from the...
2.4K
02:11Conformations of Cyclohexane
15.1K
Cyclohexane does not exist in a planar form due to the high angle and torsional strain it would experience in the planar structure. Instead, it adopts non-planar chair and boat conformations.
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal...
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal...
15.1K